Ruckus Updates

SFT Global Actions to Protest the Beijing Olympics

Ruckus is proud to be a long-time training and action support partner of Students for a Free Tibet, and never have we been more proud than during the August Olympics season this year!  Ruckus network members joined Tibetans and other SFT activists for a series of amazing and successful direct actions across the globe to shine the Olympic spotlight on China’s brutal occupation of Tibet.

After the historic Golden Gate Bridge banner action (of which our Training and Action Director Hannah Strange was a climber) in April to kick the Olympic Torch out of

San Francisco, Ruckus staff also joined SFT-ers on the eve of the Olympics on August 5th, for a blockade of the San Francisco Chinese Consulate.  Tibetan SFT activist Nyendak Wangden staged a mock hanging from the top of the building, symbolizing the deaths of thousands of Tibetans at the hands of the Chinese occupiers, while three women (including Sabba and Megan from staff, and Khando Tsering from SFT) chained themselves to the front entrance of the building, holding a banner that said "Tibetans are Dying for Freedom". 

The action went horribly wrong, however, when Consulate employees used a steel pipe to assault Brihannala Morgan (who was protecting Nyendak’s climbing rope anchor on the roof), and then cut Nyendak’s climbing rope and anchors, causing her to plummet 20 feet to a cement balcony.  Luckily both women are doing fine now, and Nyendak survived with only a broken wrist a few other minor injuries.  Ruckus joins SFT in strongly condemning the violent actions of the Consulate authorities:  read more about the action at the Consulate and SFT’s response here.

Once the Olympics began in Beijing, Ruckus network were out in full force helping SFT’s campaign pull off action after successful action, in and around the Games themselves.

Please check out SFT’s archives of all the Olympic actions for more details, and congratulations again to SFT for your amazing campaign success!